President 37 Sundeck Double Cabin

Does anyone know anything about the history or reputation of the President 37 Sundeck Double Cabin Trawler? I'm assuming it is another in the long list of CHB/Chung Hwa/Chien Hwa/Fu Hwa Taiwanese-built trawlers, and just wondered whether any TF members have had any specific knowledge of, and/or experience with, the President brand trawlers, particularly the 37 Sundeck DC (they also made a 37 Sedan Bridge model and a 370 "Sportfish" model as well, and other 38', 39' and 40' models). Thanks!

We have a 41DC President. We have had it about 3.5 years now. We have done a lot of work repairing PO neglect and various upgrades. So far we have been very satisfied with the boat.

We purchased our President 37 SunDeck DC in October. So far, so good but we're still getting intimate with the boat. Happy to try and answer and specific questions you might have. Ours surveyed well, and the fiberglass/gelcoat are in very good condition considering the age (1989). -Tim

To Comodave and timhas: thank you both for your replies. If I fly down to see this 1986 boat in Florida, I'm sure I'll have lots more specific questions to ask.

But for starters, can either of you think of an obvious reason (i.e., source of water leakage) for a "soft" deck immediately in front of the rear entrance door to the main salon, off the aft sundeck? Should I be (a) not terribly concerned about that; (b) somewhat concerned; or (c) very concerned?

Peace and blessings,

Larry

The reason for a soft deck would be water intrusion. Depending on what type of deck it is the repairs can be fairly straightforward (fiberglass deck) or much more involved (teak deck). The repair would involve removing the top of the deck and replacing the core and then reinstalling the top of the deck. Not too difficult but the hard part is hiding the repair when you are done. Pretty easy with fiberglass, more difficult with teak. I am in the process of recaulking my sundeck teak deck. The old caulk was starting to crack so it would be leaking soon. Removing the old caulk is a real PITA. Lots of time on my knees which is getting old.

Have a 86 37' aft cabin. Absolutely love the vessel. Perfect size for me and the wife and dog, plus room for guests. Been easy and straight forward to work on,though wife gets sent in on some of the tight spots. Had soft deck under long cabin Windows which leaked five years ago when we bought the boat. Easy repair, no visible sign of repair. Lots of luck with yours!
Terry on board the SuSeaQ.

We purchased a 1981 President 41 DC 5 yrs ago and love it.
As mentioned some repairs are easy, some are not. Soft surfaces are not a cause for walking away, they just need attention. Check under the windows along the walkways.
Overall construction is very good. Marine rated lumber and plywood throughout. Even the subflooring, in lockers and stringers are solid.

Comodave, thanks for your clarification regarding repairing a deck that water intrusion has softened the core under. The good news (I guess) is that the boat I'm looking at has an all fiberglass (no teak) deck, so it sounds like I won't have to spend as much time on my knees as you have with your teak deck repair. Peace and blessings, s/ Larry

TJM, thanks for your response; you're the first one to comment on the overall construction quality of the President, and I really appreciate your feedback/input.
Peace and blessings, s/ Larry

Newbie President 37 Question

We have an offer on a 1988 and have seen the boat and love what it has to offer. Does anyone have or know of a source for an online User Manual? Does anyone have a PDF they can get me? Thanks in advance, and looking forward to being involved in the forum.


Happy Boating!
Anthony

Proud 1988 President 37 Sundeck owner, join the facebook group

I did end up purchasing the 1988 President 37, and 4 weeks in and we love it.

Seeing that the smaller President Yachts are not that common I thought I would start a Facebook Group for us to share information on. It is called the President Yachts Sundeck Group. Feel free to join and share your President knowledge and experience!

Tony Canuck said:

I did end up purchasing the 1988 President 37, and 4 weeks in and we love it.

Seeing that the smaller President Yachts are not that common I thought I would start a Facebook Group for us to share information on. It is called the President Yachts Sundeck Group. Feel free to join and share your President knowledge and experience!

Click to expand...

I don’t do Facebook...

TJM said:

We purchased a 1981 President 41 DC 5 yrs ago and love it.
As mentioned some repairs are easy, some are not. Soft surfaces are not a cause for walking away, they just need attention. Check under the windows along the walkways.
Overall construction is very good. Marine rated lumber and plywood throughout. Even the subflooring, in lockers and stringers are solid.

Click to expand...

The side windows on the trunk cabin were designed to leak. They put a straight aluminum window onto a curved fiberglass cabin side. Ours had been leaking obviously for some time. I removed the windows and glassed them closed. We added 3 10x10 hatches for light and ventilation. Much better now. I used a plywood called wiggle wood because it only has grain running in one direction so it is easy to bend. I made a form to layup the glass that had a curve equal to the cabin side and then put a piece of the wiggle wood cut to fit the opening in the cabin side. Then I took thickened epoxy and set the piece into the old opening in the cabin. I used clamps to hold the piece of fiberglass in the window openings until the epoxy went off. After everything with the windows was done I sanded all the nonskid off the decks and painted the decks with Kiwigrip.

I just went out and took a photo of where the side windows were.

I bought a 1987 President 37 Sundeck last week. It is located on the hard at Green Turtle Cay, by Abaco Island in the Bahamas. It sat in the yard since before Hurricane Doria two years ago. During the storm it sustained a small amount of damage when the adjacent boat fell against the starboard side. The salon windows were broken out, the stainless railing below them was bent, there is minor fiberglass damage to the base of the radar arch, and both arch base hinges are bent. I was unable to crank the engines and test any electrical components, as all batteries need replacing. I will need to return to the island with tools to prepare the boat for the trip to home at Palm Bay, FL. It has two Lehman SP225 diesels and an 8KW Westerbeke generator. Can anyone confirm the size of wrenches I need to buy for the engines? I believe the Ford engines are SAE and Westerbeke is metric.

Here is Bob Smith’s recommended tool list for Lehmans. He was the guru on them.

Lehman Tools List

Thanks for the list, Comodave. It will be a very handy addition to our new boat

dieseldan said:

Thanks for the list, Comodave. It will be a very handy addition to our new boat

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More than welcome. I was privileged enough to take Bob Smith’s last Lehman seminar before he passed away. The guy was phenomenal in his Lehman knowledge.

Tony Canuck said:

We have an offer on a 1988 and have seen the boat and love what it has to offer. Does anyone have or know of a source for an online User Manual? Does anyone have a PDF they can get me? Thanks in advance, and looking forward to being involved in the forum.


Happy Boating!
Anthony

Click to expand...

Did you find one ? We just purchased one and we are looking for a manual.

Tony Canuck said:

I did end up purchasing the 1988 President 37, and 4 weeks in and we love it.

Seeing that the smaller President Yachts are not that common I thought I would start a Facebook Group for us to share information on. It is called the President Yachts Sundeck Group. Feel free to join and share your President knowledge and experience!

Click to expand...

I can't find it, do you have a link ?

Removal of Radar tower and possable hardtop over Sundeck

Hi I found this fourm and I see it is still active. I am looking at buying a 37 ft President aftcabin. Issue is it is over 600 km by land away and close to 1000 km by water if not further. So I was looking into transporting by land and the price seems fair compared to what gas is and the cost to cruse that far.

So the issue is the height as it has a radar tower and hardtop over the sundeck the cover over the helm is just canvas. To be hauled the Radar tower for sure would have to dismantaled and possable the hardtop. Is this fesable or should i look closer. As this boat is pretty far away I have not visited it yet I figure I would get as much info and options before making a comitment.

And one other quick question is there an aftermartket option for the radar and hardtop for aft cabins in case I find one that did not come with one.

Welcome aboard. We used to own a 41 President. If the 37 is similar it would be a big job removing the arch and hardtop. It could be done but would take quite a bit of time.